Troy Talk
The Enemy of One-Person, One-Vote Democracy
If you examine the boundaries of election districts, you cannot help but notice that somehow they seem rather oddly shaped, and their configuration is not necessarily a coincidence.
The practice of creating election districts to benefit a specific candidate or party goes back to the founding days of our country. (Indeed, the term, gerrymander, appeared for the first time in 1812 when a Boston newspaper applied the word to then-Gov. Gerry and the salamander-shaped district he created in an attempt to give his party an electoral advantage.)
Pay-to-Play in Politics: The Power of Transparency
After the long presidential primary run, and those who anticipate the impending coverage of the presidential race can rest assured that the media will bring up one topic repeatedly: Campaign Finance.
The costs of campaigns and, more specifically, who is funding campaigns matter, especially when there is a veil of secrecy around donations. For that reason, I have introduced two proposals that would revamp and improve campaign finance and pay-to-play laws in New Jersey. My goal strikes at the core of what is often missing in campaign financing: greater transparency and broadening disclosure requirements.
Heroin, Headlines and a Cry for Help
No one ever woke up one day and said, “Today, I will become hooked on heroin.” However, for far too many New Jersey residents the pain of this disease is far too real. One of the most sobering experiences of my life was when I visited a heroin recovery support group. There, men and women, who continue to fight this sickness, shared with me their pain of addiction. I must admit I was not shocked by their stories, as my family has faced this scourge of addiction, but it did bring me right back to those difficult memories in my own life.
I listened to their stories of the intense high of heroin and how the feeling becomes so addictive that you will do anything and everything you can to feel that way again. How when you aren’t on it, your body aches and you cannot sleep or think clearly…or how your mind is dominated of thoughts on getting high again. I was told of the close calls with death and the abandonment of family and friends just to chase that high. They also shared with me their stories of immense regret and sadness, on how their lives had spiraled out of control…the fellow addicts they lost to this disease along the way and how they were seemingly powerless to combat their addiction.
Muhammad Ali: How Great Thou Art
Muhammad Ali’s accomplishments as a boxer have placed him in the pantheon of the most accomplished athletes in sports history.
But, the stunning boxing accomplishments of this force of nature in the end would be overshadowed by his stature as a civil rights activist and a bona-fide worldwide cultural icon who defies description.
Lest We Forget: Protecting the Children Left Behind
Gone but never forgotten. It’s a phrase that we hear frequently, but I wonder if it doesn’t strike a different emotional chord with children who have lost a parent, particularly if that mother or father served in the area of public safety and died in the line of duty.
The uncomfortable truth is that nothing can replace a parent for a child. And the other uncomfortable truth is that after all the solemn remembrances, the surviving family, especially the children, must face the burden and expense of daily life.
For that reason, I am sponsoring a bipartisan proposal (along with my colleagues, Assemblymen Herb Conaway Jr., M.D., Adam Taliaferro, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Diane Allen) to boost survivor’s benefits for children of law enforcement and firefighters who die in the line of duty.
Moving Democracy Forward
Simple, sensible and smart. Those are three words that describe a proposal introduced by my colleagues: Assemblymen Craig Coughlin, Gary Schaer, Tim Eustace and Assemblywoman Joann Downey that recently saw legislative action. And, in my opinion are the ingredients for a fair and broad-based approach to voter registration.
The legislation, A-1944, would register individuals to vote when obtaining or renewing their driver’s license. This doesn’t mean you have to vote, that’s a personal decision, but it will remove any possible question about your access to voting.